The Alma College men's basketball team played in their final game before the Christmas break on Monday evening when they traveled to Wisconsin-Whitewater for a non-league matchup. The Scots were defeated by a score of 97-69 to fall to 1-8 on the season, while Whitewater improved to 6-2 in 2013-14.

"We came out a little tentative to start and once we settled down we really battled them for a stretch in the first half, then too many turnovers killed us," said Alma Head Coach Sam Hargraves. "We really defended them quite well in the halfcourt, but when you only score one point in seven and half minutes in the half, that's hard to overcome. Most of that was due to turnovers.

"We competed pretty well in second half, but we had too big of a hole and they are a very talented team. We knew these two games were going to be really tough, as will the next two. Playing the way we did this weekend, I'd like to have four or five of our other games to play over again."

The first half was 20 minutes of different runs. The score was tied at 4-4 before a 13-3 run gave Whitewater a 17-7 advantage with 14:03 remaining in the frame. The Scots made it a one-point game at 24-23 at the 8:34 mark on a three-pointer by So. F DJ Beckman (Shelby/Shelby).

However, the home team buckled down and outscored Alma 25-7 over the rest of the half and was able to take a 49-30 lead into the lockerroom at the break. The shooting was pretty even in the first half (39%-38% for Whitewater) but a big difference was 16 free throws by the home team (20 attempts) to just two (four attempts) for the Scots.

Whitewater led two minutes into the second half by a score of 56-35 before the Scots closed the gap to 15 points at the 17:23 mark on a three-pointer by Sr. F Isiah Law (Grand Haven/Grand Haven). However, the hosts kept the Scots at bay and the closest Alma would be was 19 points on a lay-up by Law that made it 69-50 at 13:13.

Alma then trailed by 24 at 77-53 just four minutes later, and Whitewater cruised the rest of the way, walking off the court with the 97-69 home victory.

Alma was led by Law, who had 13 points, while Beckman finished with 12 points - the two players had three and four three-pointers respectively.  

So. G Scott Nikodemski (Rockford/Rockford) added 10 points, while So. G Tyler Walden (Perrinton/Fulton) had nine points on three three-pointers. So. G Brandon Trefil (Perrinton/Fulton) contibuted a team-high five rebounds and had three assists.

Alma is now off until December 29, when they take on host St. Norbert (WI) College. Tip-off is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. (EST). They will then conclude the two-day tournament on the 30th against an yet to be determined opponent.